Sunday, June 27, 2010

Happy Sunday stampers! Its time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ! Our hostess this week is the lovely Randi, who selected this verse:

Isaiah 53:5 (KJV) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; And with His stripes we are healed.

Her challenge is to incorporate stripes in your card or project. You can read her thoughts on her chosen verse on our home page here.

I have about two minutes to post, we are on a camping trip and I have just a few moments of server time that I borrowed at a Taco Bell.

If you can find time to participate we'd love to have you play along. You can use Mr. Linky on the blog home page to link your card and this week's sponsor is Toucan Scraps, which has generously donated a prize for one lucky winner. Wishing you all a blessed week!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Hey PTI fans! Is it the 25th already? How time flies! This month's Papertrey Ink customer blog hop theme challenges us to use . . .color! What are your favorite color combinations and which combo did you use for the hop? I used . . . almost all of them!

The picture is total crud, but I took a quick shot with my camera before scooting away to go camping with the DH and littlest one. One of my Papertrey Peep buddies, Nerina, is going to be kind enough to link me to the hop. Anyway, bad photo aside, I had this idea to use the little owls in all different color inks with opposing color circles behind them. I punched out the owls using a one inch circle punch and a one and one-eighth punch for the colored discs behind them.

Side note . . . we're driving in Missouri and there are these electronic road signs that say "DRIVE SAFELY. MODOT CARES." Who is Modot? Sounds like he should be battling the evil emperor ZURG from Toy Story for control of Buzz Lightyear. (yes, yes, I know it means Missouri department of transportation, its just that the signs are in all capital letters and it sounds like an alien.)

Monday, June 21, 2010

Hey Peeps! Heather issued challenge ten on our Papertrey Peeps blog and her choice was a color challenge, to use turquoise, purple, chartreuse, black, white and gray. I didn't even realize it as I was playing around that I used just about the same layout Heather did, but in a square format. Oh well, great minds and all that (except she has more talent). :)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ. This week's hostess is sweet Candace, who selected this verse, Psalm 119:105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."

Her challenge is to only use words, no stamped images on your project or card.

Our sponsor this week is Paper Jewels and they are donating a $15 gift card to one lucky recipient chosen randomly from this week's participants. You can check out the main web page to read Candace's thoughts about her chosen verse and to see the creations by the rest of the design team as well.

I used a Verve plain Jane bible verse as well as a sketch they had posted over a year ago, seemed like a nice layout to highlight the verse.

I haven't posted anything since last Sunday's challenge, we are busy getting our house ready to list with a realtor and have been busily decluttering, scrubbing, painting, pulling weeds. If my house looked this good all the time, I'd want to buy it! :) But it also means we're in for a lot of change. In addition to moving (dependent upon finding a buyer) I will have three kids in college this Fall. And employment is very uncertain right now.

What we can count on in the midst of change is the word of the Lord. In the midst of change, the midst of uncertainty, his Word will illuminate the path in front of us, sometimes just one step at a time, but He is faithful to lead us if we will follow Him.

We went on vacation once in Maine in a campground that was completely lights out at ten o'clock. And it was in the middle of nowhere--I mean nowhere. I thought we were going to tear out the undercarriage of the car just driving down the 'road' (and I use that word loosely) to get to our campsite. But once we were there it was beautiful! I've never seen trees that large, a sky so illuminated with stars . . .but when the lights were out and it was cloudy and you had to find your way to the bathroom at midnight??? What an experience! You couldn't see your hand in front of your face! I thought of that verse then, and how for centuries, the world had no electricity. Have you ever been anywhere that had no electricity? Experienced true darkness? You really start to appreciate a flashlight, our modern version of the lamps that for centuries lit the path for people who had to go out at night.

The path that the Word will lead us on, is of course, not a real pathway of paved stones or trodden down dirt in the midst of the woods, but the path that Jesus walked--the path of following God's best for us and trying to emulate Jesus in our own lives. One way to shine God's light so others can see it too is to help others around us, to visibly demonstrate love for one another. What better way to help make God's love tangible and real to a world so often stumbling in the dark?

There is a great song by Matt Maher that I was listening to while I made my card, here is the youtube link, and if for some reason it doesn't work, look up 'Hold us Together' by Matt on youtube. I think you'll enjoy it. He has a line in there that says, 'cuz even in the dark you can still see the light, it's gonna be all right.' Its going to be all right when we rely on the love of God above all things and let it flow through us to others. He loves you, you know. :) Have a great week.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Happy Sunday stampers! Its time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ. This week's hostess is the talented Lisa, who has selected this verse: 2 Timothy 1-6 "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops."

Her challenge is to make a masculine card for Father's Day or just a guy type card.

I was ruminating on a completely different set of thoughts for this challenge until a few incidents this week gelled together with Lisa's selected verse, and pushed those other thoughts out of my mind for now. They will keep for another day.

First, my DH and I happen to have been reading at night this week from the book of Mark, chapters eleven through fourteen, from Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem with the crowds cheering enthusiastically, to his arrest and betrayal by Judas in the garden of Gethsemane.

Second, the city of Chicago hosted a huge ticker tape parade on Friday for the Blackhawks, winners of this year's Stanley Cup. My kids all went downtown along with a crush of some two million people to cheer them on. You can find photos of it online; the sea of people is enormous.

Third, the same morning of the rally, I drove my DH to the airport for a trip out of town. His grandmother died, but only one of us can travel to the funeral. There isn't much time to unload the car and say goodbye in the departure lane at O'Hare, it has to be quick. But I had time to observe, just behind our car, a tearful wife saying goodbye to her husband, clad in a camouflage uniform with his duffel bag in hand, ready to face who knows what sort of dangers serving in the U.S. military in some far off part of the world.

I don't begrudge the hockey team their parade, they're talented, excited and like any other city, Chicago likes to celebrate its winning sports teams. One nice tradition is that at the home games the Hawks have a pair of military members on the ice during the national anthem, as guests at the game. The cheering is intense. But I was wishing that man in uniform, flying away from his family on Friday morning, could have had two million people cheering him on to thank him for his service.

Almost to this exact date in 1986 I attended my one and only parade in Chicago, a celebration that June for the Vietnam veterans to thank them, quite belatedly, for their service to this country. They didn't come home to cheers and victory marches when they finished their tours of duty. But that day the streets were lined with people like myself, who cheered and clapped and tried in some small way to make up for the echoing silence, or worse, that greeted them upon their return from war.

On this side of heaven sometimes you'll run the race alone; sometimes in a crowd. Some race to accolades like sports heroes, some run a race nobody sees, like that soldier in his quiet departure at the airport Friday morning. But one thing Mark and the other gospels make clear is that Jesus understands our feelings. During his time on earth he experienced what it meant to be utterly alone and what it meant to be cheered and despised by the crowds.

There might be no one on this earth showering you with approval for the internal battles or struggles you fight daily. But as soldiers for Christ, as Christians with a job to do on this earth, no matter how large or small, the cheers and accolades are not our ultimate goal. Serving is our goal.

When we get to heaven we know we'll be part of a bigger party than the crush on Michigan Avenue. We'll be cheering and singing for the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings!

But before we get there, the exhortation in Lisa's chosen passage from Timothy is to shoulder our responsibilities and not shirk our duties, wherever those might lie. As stampers we've been given, among other things, creative talents and we each have opportunities to choose how we're going to use them. If you feel led to do so, remember you can donate your handmade cards to organizations like Operation Write Home, that puts your beautiful creations in the hands of our service members so they can send notes home. You can find out details of making cards for them on the Operation Write Home web site. That's what I made this card for and I hope to get a batch of them together to send in this week. Thanks for looking. Hope you can play along with Stampin' Sisters in Christ!

Friday, June 11, 2010

I just wanted to share one photo from my daughter's prom pictures last weekend. Yes, she had a good time and my goodness, all the girls were just gorgeous! I don't remember everyone looking so elegant when I was growing up! The girls had the idea to take a photo from behind to show their flowing skirts and hairdos, doesn't it make such a lovely flower garden of girls in their prom finery? My rose is third from the left.

Welcome to the final day of Mark's Finest Papers new June release blog hop! Mark's Finest Papers' Design Teams are celebrating our NEWEST STAMP RELEASE with a blog hop! All four sets are available right now!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the following design team member's blogs on June 8, 9, 10 and 11, 2010. On Saturday, (June 12, 2010) a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day! (4 different winners, one winner for each day). (THAT MEANS IF YOU MISSED A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE OTHER CHANCES TO WIN!) And, you can go back and comment any time during the four days of the hop as the winners will be chosen on Saturday morning.)

The 4 winners will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog on June 12, 2010. Each winner will receive 1 Stamp Set that will be released NEXT month!

Today, Friday, June 11 we are featuring the new set, Cupcake Birthday! Here is the hop order:

I had a lot of fun with this one, who doesn't like a cupcake birthday set? Do you see the little cake images marching along in a row? They make such a great border to accent the main image or sentiment!

I also hoped to find the time to try an explosion box with this set, it just seemed like a natural. I used the mini line of cupcakes and cake on the outside edge of each side of the cover and propped up an image of the smaller cupcake on the box top as well. When you open the box, there is a balloon spiral attached to the box base and lid. Its supposed to be like a birthday explosion inside the box. I don't know, both older daughters laughed when I showed it to them! I stamped the two different sized balloons from the set on different color cardstock in silver and cut them out, also using two of the set sentiments on the box interior.

If you didn't start at the beginning of the hop, visit Samantha, who is at the top of the list above. If you've already been hopping, you would have arrived from Debbie Seyer's blog and your next stop after this one will be Faith! Good luck and happy hopping!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Welcome to the third day of Mark's Finest Papers new June release blog hop! Mark's Finest Papers' Design Teams are celebrating our NEWEST STAMP RELEASE with a blog hop! All four sets are available right now!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the following design team member's blogs on June 8, 9, 10 and 11, 2010. On Saturday, (June 12, 2010) a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day! (4 different winners, one winner for each day). (THAT MEANS IF YOU MISSED A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE OTHER CHANCES TO WIN!) And, you can go back and comment any time during the four days of the hop as the winners will be chosen on Saturday morning.)

The 4 winners will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog on June 12, 2010. Each winner will receive 1 Stamp Set that will be released NEXT month!

Today, Thursday, June 10 we are featuring the new set, More of Speedy the Cat's Friends! Here is the hop order:

I always find it a challenge to make more masculine cards but the images in this set can go either way, with a very fluffy cat or with some great dog images. The cat would have been easier for me to use so I thought I would challenge myself and make a 'guy' card. I think the guys in my life must get tired of flowers. :)

Here is a card I made for this last VSN with a set preview, just giving you a quick look again this set again, using it in a different layout.

If you didn't start at the beginning of the hop, visit Samantha, who is at the top of the list above. If you've already been hopping, you would have arrived from Debbie Seyer's blog and your next stop after this one will be Faith! Good luck and happy hopping!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Welcome to the second day of Mark's Finest Papers new June release blog hop! Mark's Finest Papers' Design Teams are celebrating our NEWEST STAMP RELEASE with a blog hop! All four sets are available as of yesterday!

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the following design team member's blogs on June 8, 9, 10 and 11, 2010. On Saturday, (June 12, 2010) a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day! (4 different winners, one winner for each day). (THAT MEANS IF YOU MISSED A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE OTHER CHANCES TO WIN!) And, you can go back and comment any time during the four days of the hop as the winners will be chosen on Saturday morning.)

The 4 winners will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog on June 12, 2010. Each winner will receive 1 Stamp Set that will be released NEXT month!

Today, Wednesday, June 9 we are featuring the new set, Pears and Hollyhocks! Here is the hop order:

I used prismacolor pencils and gamsol to color in the images. There is lots of wonderful organdy ribbon in the store. I wanted mine to have a bit of a crinkled look so I used the heat gun on it lightly (Remember lightly! don't ask me how I know this) and the ribbon will begin to crinkle. Reminds me of the gift boxes of pears we used to get at Christmas time when I was a kid.

Thanks for looking and remember to visit each of the design team member's blogs to see their inspiring creations with this new set. If you didn't start at the beginning, see the list above and visit Samantha. If you are already hopping you would have arrived from Debbie Seyer's blog. The next stop after visiting here is Faith's blog. Happy hopping!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

For your chance to win BLOG CANDY, visit and comment on each of the following design team members' blogs on June 8, 9, 10 and 11t, 2010. On Saturday, (June 12, 2010), a winner will be chosen FOR EACH DAY from those participants who visited all the blogs listed for that day! (4 different winners, one winner for each day.) (THAT MEANS IF YOU MISSED A DAY, YOU STILL HAVE OTHER CHANCES TO WIN! And, you can go back and comment, as the winners will be chosen Saturday morning!)

The 4 Winners will be announced on the Mark's Finest Papers Blog on June 12, 2010. Each winner will receive 1 Stamp Set that will be released NEXT month!

Don't forget to visit the other DT member's Blogs for today's Chance to WIN! The last link will lead you to the store.

Today, Tuesday, June 8 we are featuring the new set, Believe in You! Here is the hop order:

I used the wrinkle free distress technique using Tim Holtz Ranger distress inks, which you also can find in the store, in addition to the stamp sets being released today. I used a combination of spiced marmalade, green shutters and mustard seed. I just use wax paper when I do that technique, it seems to work just fine with a mini spritzer. I stamped the egret image twice and cut it out so he would show up nice and white against the background, highlighted with a bit of grey copic. Then I painted the cat tails and the pond water with some twinkling H20s for a bit of shimmer.

The image seemed to want simplicity so I used raffia as a tie around the corners and a little charm of a dragonfly dangling from the top corner. Its behind the egret so he can't see it yet but I'm sure might want it for a yummy snack! :) Thanks for looking.

You should have arrived here from Debbie Seyer's blog. If you didn't start at the beginning, see the list I have above of the design team members and begin with Samantha to start hop, hop, hopping! If you are on track, find your way to Faith's blog to see more great release creativity!

Monday, June 7, 2010

I'm Late! I'm Late! I'm Late! Kathy, I want to wish you a very happy birthday. Blogger was not cooperating last night and I couldn't post, but I made this card just for you because a little birdie (ahem! your sister!) told me you like the color purple. I used some new purple silk ribbon I had been saving! (hoarding)

Wishing you a very happy birthday and if we are back on track, you could now hop to Randi's blog, or go back to the main blog. I know Randi was affected by the blogger blackout as well, seemed to be a Midwestern phenomenon.

In addition to the card, I brought some lavendar to the party because I know you like that scent. Here is a field full of lavendar, I can only imagine walking through it and being surrounded by that sweet smell! Stamps: PTI Tea for TwoInk: black craftPaper: Stampin' Up DP (tea party), other pieces of purple and stuff . . . Other: silver cord, silver pen, cuttlebug vintage folder, nestability petite scalloped circle, silk ribbon

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Happy Sunday stampers! Its time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ! This week's hostess is the lovely (and young! :)) Kathy who selected this verse from Genesis 1:26 "And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Her challenge is to make a card/project that has some kind of animal on it. It can be a fish, bird, land mammal or a creeping bug.

Our sponsor this week is Wild Flower Kids Stamps, which is donating five digital stamps of the winner's choice from their shop located here.

I took Kathy at her word and decided to use some 'creeping bugs' on my card. There are a lot of different types of bugs that I think are pretty cool. I think bees are amazing. I like caterpillars and butterflies (which in my opinion almost don't qualify as a bug) and dragonflies and snails. The largest snail I ever saw was crawling in my aunt's garden in Bavaria when we visited her one summer. I didn't agree with her suggestion that I should have captured it for dinner, but I think it probably takes a few more than one to make a meal. (Yuck!)

I think this verse that Kathy chose has a lot to say to us. First and foremost God created everything that we see and the variety and diversity of the various life forms and their intricate workings are amazing. But where I'd like to focus is that word dominion. It means rule or authority. But if you dig deeper into those words, hand in hand with authority comes responsibility.

One of the harsh realities of living in a fallen world is not only what we as humans are capable of doing to one another, to those who are also made in God's image, but also what we do to the world God created. I know that probably everyone who reads this post will have seen the heartbreaking photos of the wildlife from the Gulf of Mexico, soaked in oil. What we can't see immediately is the effects of this massive oil spill on the undersea creatures, the fish and the wildlife that live in the depths of the ocean, but scientists assure us that the effects are devastating and far-reaching. While as Christians our first commission is to spread the gospel message, we have other responsibilities too as laid out in the bible. In addition to caring for people--the poor, sick and needy--here is clear instruction in the first chapter of Genesis for all of us to take care of the world around us.

I don't live near the Gulf, I cannot personally help wipe down a pelican. But we each make daily decisions regarding our response to other people and about the resources we use; what we are putting into the air and water. Keeping that verse in mind, what area of influence has God put in front of you, right where you live, where you can make positive choices and decisions in keeping with the bible?

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

I don't know why my photos insist in laying in their sides, I can't turn them, so turn your head a little when you look. There is a new challenge on Splitcoast Stampers called Queen for the Day. Many lovely ladies I know have been selected for this so far although I just discovered it recently. I got the chance to play along this week and CASEd a creation made by Grace Nywening, one of the design team members for Stampin' Sisters in Christ and a chief designer for Our Daily Bread Designs as well. Grace often highlights beautiful bible verses as the central focus in her cards, so I have a verse and a saying respectively as the focus on mine. I made one bright, using the new Cosmo Cricket DeLovely paper, because Grace shines her light so brightly for the Lord and one more vintage as that is more her style, using Melissa Frances papers.

She stitched all around each individual square in her nine-patch card and the outside, I don't have a stamping/sewing machine yet so in the brighter card I paper pierced around the edges and in the vintage card I used a silver gel pen to create and edge and then to soften it I sponged around the edges with antique linen distress ink. Painted cream colored prima roses with a variety of blue reinkers and then sprinkled on some glitter.

Thanks for looking and if you get a chance, stop by and make a card for Grace for QFTD on SCS.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Despite my best intentions for this past VSN or Virtual Stamp Night last weekend on Splitcoast Stampers, I only managed to make two cards for two challenges. Between planting flowers, fixing up the house, visiting family and rooting on the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup playoffs, stamping time was very limited!

I made one card for the final challenge of the weekend to pull out a stamp set that has languished on the shelf. This set not only has languished on the shelf, I had it in the 'for sale' pile. I think I"ll pull it out again. The best part is that I got to use so many of my bright PTI buttons!

I also made a card for Kelly (schirmcat's) challenge to use versamark. There is a preview of a stamp set being released by Mark's Finest Papers this month, with the most adorable pet images and sentiments--I used the paw prints cutting across the top panel to the main image and it is looking back at the sentiment. Be watching for the team blog hop coming up mid month to see the other sets being released this month.

Welcome

Welcome to "Roses by my Window,” a place where I can share my creative journey and hopefully add a little beauty to the world. I love the Lord and love my family. I also knit and bake but here I’ll be sharing cards, trying new stamping techniques and attempting to improve even a wee bit each time I hit the craft table. Thanks for stopping to have a look!